Donald Thomas Schaefer (February 13, 1934 – January 20, 2019) was an American football player. He was a first-team All-American fullback at Notre Dame in 1955.[1]
| No. 24 | |
|---|---|
| Position: | Fullback |
| Personal information | |
| Born: | February 13, 1934 Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Died: | January 20, 2019 (aged 84) Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Height: | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) |
| Weight: | 185 lb (84 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school: | Central Catholic (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) |
| College: | Notre Dame |
| NFL draft: | 1956 / round: 3 / pick: 28 |
| Career history | |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
| Stats at Pro Football Reference | |
Schaefer was born in Pittsburgh. He attended Pittsburgh Central Catholic High School.[2][3] He then enrolled at the University of Notre Dame where he played college football at the fullback position for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team from 1953 to 1955.[4] He was selected by the American Football Coaches Association, the Football Writers Association of America, the International News Service and the Central Press Association as a first-team player on their respective 1955 College Football All-America Teams.[5][6]
Schaefer was selected by the Philadelphia Eagles in the third round (28th overall pick) of the 1956 NFL draft and appeared in 12 games for the Eagles during the 1956 NFL season.[2][7][8] He then served 30 months in the United States Air Force and played one season in the Canadian Football League for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats. After retiring from football, he worked for Canteen Corporation in Chicago and Wyckoff, New Jersey.
References
edit- ^ "Don Schaefer NFL CFL Stats and Bio". profootballarchives.com. Retrieved July 5, 2023.
- ^ a b "Don Schaefer NFL Football". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved February 12, 2015.
- ^ "Colleges Get 3 Central High Stars: Schaefer Going to Notre Dame ..." The Pittsburgh Press. May 29, 1952.
- ^ a b "Don Schaefer: Central, Notre Dame football star". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. August 27, 1987.
- ^ ESPN College Football Encyclopedia. ESPN Books. 2005. p. 1240. ISBN 1401337031.
- ^ Walter Johns (November 26, 1955). "Central Press Captains All-American: Cassady Repeats On All-America". Mansfield News Journal.
- ^ "Eagles Sign Don Schaefer". Beaver Valley Times. January 4, 1956. p. 15.
- ^ Red Smith (October 25, 1956). "Notre Dame Rookie Gives Eagles New Look". St. Petersburg Times. p. 22.
- ^ "Football memories good for Schaefer". The Pittsburgh Press. July 24, 1986.
- ^ "Sports Briefs". Lakeland Ledger. June 30, 1978.